10 THINGS EMPLOYMENT RECRUITERSWON’T SAY

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

1.“There are better ways to find a job.”

A recruiter or agency is one part of a job search but the chances of employment fall significantly below the level of success in referral-based hiring.**REFERRAL: A CONNECTION MADE BY SOMEONE YOU KNOW.

Survey of 200 people: 27% of respondents said referrals were the biggest factor in external hires in 2009 compared to 27.1% in 2005. Third Party Agencies: 2.3% (2009)/ 5.2% success rate (2005).

2. “We don’t work for you.”

Recruiters work for the hiring company, and that’s where their allegiance lies– not with the job-seeker.

As a result…headhunters will always be more interested in making their client happy than in finding a candidate the best possible package.

Because most recruiters don’t get paid until the position gets filled, they care more about sealing the deal than they do about getting you another $10,000.

3. “Until a year ago, I was a car salesman.”

There are no laws or rules that govern what constitutes an “employment agency” or who can call himself a recruiter, and setting up shop is pretty easy.

A year’s worth of advertising, office space, travel and communications equipment is just $50,000 for an experienced recruiter

That means job seekers have to vet a recruiter with the same diligence they’d investigate a potential employer. Ask how long the recruiter’s been in the business, and where they’ve placed candidates in the past.

4. “The job we advertised may not exist.”

Recruiters often advertise appealing jobs that aren’t vacant, just to build up a stable number of candidates.

From a staffing firm or recruiter’s perspective, this is a practical way to do business, because many assignments offer a bonus for filling a key job fast.

For the best odds of success, job-seekers should identify companies and positions they’re specifically interested in and seek out recruiters who work with them.

5. “We already know quite a bit about you.”

As soon as you sign up with a recruiter or search firm, they check you out – your background, your credit history, even legal records.

Unlike a recruiter, a prospective employer usually doesn’t do the background check until after he’s met you. That gives a candidate the opportunity to impress on his merits, and explain anything that might be dodgy in his history. Working through a recruiter, a job seeker might never get that chance.

In that case, all you can do is make sure that the information they have is accurate. Almost 80 % of credit reports contain errors, and 25% have what’s considered to be a “serious error” such as false delinquencies or accounts that did not belong to the consumer.

6. “Our jobs aren’t so hot either.”

Most agencies don’t get paid unless they place candidates at jobs. In 2009, the 20 largest employment firms saw revenue drop almost 20%, prompting many to lay off employees.

A lot of experienced people have left the field, leaving empty desks and new people who have never done this before. That means you often don’t get the best help in your job search, particularly working with smaller firms.

7. “You’re at the mercy of a computer, just like online job board members.”

The rise of online job sites like Monster and Careerbuilder has changed the way many staffing professionals work. The sites use computer programs to scan applications for particular keywords – and now, so do recruiters.

To get through the computer gatekeeper, applicants need to make sure there are relevant, searchable words are on their resumes.

Candidates who aren’t sure what the magic keywords are should look at the description of the job they’re applying for. The “must have” criteria in the description are particularly important.

8. “The ‘temp-to-perm’ carrot is rotten.”

Many staffing agencies hold out the promise of permanent jobs after success in a temporary position, but that trend isn’t holding in this recovery.

Since temporary employment trends hit bottom in September 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor says the service and professional sectors have added 392,000 temporary jobs.

Positions explicitly advertised as temp-to-perm accounted for just 1.6% of all hiring in 2009 – and even in better times, that rate was only around 3%.

“Temp-to-perm is basically a marketing ploy,” says Corcodilos, who says it’s really more of a fantasy: “It’s what recruiters would like to see happen.”

9. “If you have a job, I could get you fired.”

Not all recruiters are careful, and the last thing you want is to have your resume land on the desk of your current boss. This is a very real risk, so job seekers need to make sure they know exactly what recruiters are doing on their behalf.

There are aggressive recruiters who pull resumes off LinkedIn profiles and job boards and circulate them without getting the candidates permission – or even letting them know.

Posting your resume as an un-alterable PDF is a good way to keep track of where you and any recruiters you’re working with may send it.

10. “If I’m in Virginia, I probably won’t help you find a job in Nebraska.”

If you’re willing to relocate, don’t rely on your contact in your home city to help you find work outside the area — even if you’re working with a national search firm.

Recruiters at big firms have little incentive to spread your resume around to other locations; they’ll have to split a commission with the colleague that helps you land a job.

Instead, send your resume to the branch offices in the places you would like to go. As soon as that office has you on file, they’ll take ownership of your search. Smaller, more local firms agree – and may even refer you to someone else.

Just incase you missed something…

1. “There are better ways to find a job.”

2. “We don’t work for you.”

3. “Until a year ago, I was a car salesman.”

4. “The job we advertised may not exist.”

5. “We already know quite a bit about you.”

6. “Our jobs aren’t so hot either.”

7. “You’re at the mercy of a computer, just like online job board users.”

8. “The ‘temp-to-perm’ carrot is rotten.”

9. “If you have a job, I could get you fired.”

10. “If I’m in Virginia, I probably won’t help you find a job in Nebraska.”